


The Cobbler Incident (Tanya's POV)

by Hello_Im_not_a_possum



Series: MMHOPH Age Swap AU [2]
Category: Mao Mao: Heroes of Pure Heart (Cartoon)
Genre: Age Swap AU, Child Abuse, Gen, Ghosts, If you want to kick Shin Mao's ass after reading this, Suicide Attempt, please take a number and get in line
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-28
Updated: 2019-10-29
Packaged: 2021-01-06 00:06:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21217289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hello_Im_not_a_possum/pseuds/Hello_Im_not_a_possum
Summary: Tanya Learns a lot more about her inlaws. Specifically, she learns that her father in law is really fucked up.





	1. The redemption room

As wandering heroes with their own journeys, the five sisters were rarely at home at the same time. Two or even three of them at the house was something, but all five? almost impossible, almost. On these once-in-a-blue-moon occasions where this did happen, it might as well have been a holiday considering how they acted about it.

Tanya Keys definitely enjoyed these rare moments her stuffy and uptight sisters-in-law seemed to loosen up a bit. While she and her wife weren’t joined at the hip, she never turned down an opportunity to visit the Mao clan’s home.

The reason why? her favorite sibling in law still lived there. Maybe she was a little biased because he looked up to her and thought that she was cool when the others thought she was ‘a bad influence’, but Mao Mao was a good kid who she knew would do great things when he grew up.

“_Tanyaaaaa!_”

Speak of the devil, Mao Mao ran up to her and hugged her leg.

“Did you see anything cool?! Did you fight any scary bad guys? Did you save anybody? Did you bring me anything?”

“Woah! slow down kiddo!” she chuckled as she ruffled the excited kitten’s fur. “Hey speaking of bringing things, what do you have there?”

His tail was wrapped around a covered tin. Nothing really stood out about it unless you counted the way Mao Mao carried it with pride.

“Oh! well, because this is kind of a special event, I saved up my pocket money to buy my favorite dessert for us all to share!”

“Well that was nice of you! what is it?”

He beamed and opened up the tin, revealing the cherished treat he was so excited to share with his family.

“Cobbler!”

The room’s previously warm and fun atmosphere died on the spot when Mao Mao revealed the dessert he had wanted to share. Tanya heard nervous whispers but couldn’t quite make out what was being said. Mao Mao looked confused and almost frightened. Tanya was equally confused.

“W-what’s wrong?”

“Hey guys, what killed the mood?”

Shin Mao stared down at his son, those golden eyes of his were cold with disappointment.

“Daddy?”

Mao Mao’s innocent green eyes stared back at him, not knowing what he did wrong.

His father took him aside, and Tanya couldn’t hear what he was saying to him. Something was wrong, but she couldn’t tell what it  
was. As the seconds ticked past each one felt like an eternity, until someone told her to follow them (Tanya couldn’t remember who at the time)

The room that she was led into looked as extravagant and awe inspiring as the rest of the house, but it was much smaller than the  
rest of the rooms, and something told her that it was rarely used.

Aside from herself, there were seven figures in there, Shin Mao, Mao Mao, her wife, and her four sisters in law. Mao Mao was sitting on the floor with a small table in front of him. This table held his sword, a cup and a bottle of sake, a piece of paper and a pen, he looked scared and was visibly shaking. Shin Mao was behind him, his sword at his side. The others, including herself, were just standing there, waiting, but for what?

Apparently, the ceremony she was about to witness was something that only blood relatives of the Mao clan would see, Something she would’ve never witnessed if Shin Mao didn’t decide to let her witness the consequences of disobedience in the Mao clan.

The room felt like it got colder as Mao Mao started to write something down on the paper and read it out loud. It was some sort of short poem about betrayal.

There was a glimmer of a realization being finalized in one of her sister-in-law’s eyes, her arms twitched as if she tried to move them but something or someone was holding her back. Tanya could swear that she saw something behind her, behind all of them.

The first cup of sake was poured into the cup, and Mao Mao’s hands were shaking so much that he accidentally spilled it all over the floor. The action naturally drew attention to the floor, was it just her or was there a lot of red on it?

The second cup of sake was poured, and Mao Mao two gulps of it.

Tanya noticed more frantic twitching from the rest of the captive audience, and the things holding them back were more visible now, the people holding them back.

They were men and women who held striking resemblances to the Mao clan, They all looked like warriors, those black cats that mostly had green eyes with the occasional gold eye or blue eye thrown in. The translucent figures all had deep cuts on them, some of them had them on their stomachs, others had them on their throats, some of them didn’t have heads.

And then it clicked.

Ghosts.

People died in this room.

Members of the Mao clan died in this room.

_Mao Mao was going to die in this room._

She wanted to scream but something prevented her from doing so, she wanted to run, to stop this, to punch Shin Mao’s face until it couldn’t be recognized, but she couldn’t. She couldn’t even look away when Mao Mao drew his sword out of his sheath and took a deep breath while Shin Mao waited behind him with his own sword drawn.

He took the sword with shaking hands and plunged it deep into his own stomach, he screamed, she wished she could scream, she tried to look away, to close her eyes but the malevolent ghosts who died the same death as their descendant didn’t even grant her that luxury.

Tears were streaming down his face as he cut his stomach open from left to right and wrenched the blade upwards. Mao Mao’s part was done, now Shin Mao’s blade rushed down to meet his neck and then.

** _CRASH_ **

Her mother in law tackled Shin Mao, saying what the captive audience was thinking.

“_**WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?! THAT’S OUR ONLY SON! HE’S JUST A CHILD! HOW COULD YOU THINK THIS WAS OKAY!? THIS IS NOT OKAY! THERE IS NO TRADITION OR CODE OF HONOR IN THE WORLD WORTH UPHOLDING IF THIS IS WHAT’S DONE TO KEEP IT!**_”

The ghosts disappeared.

She could move again, she could move and- _Mao Mao!_ Mao Mao’s hurt! She and the others rushed to his side, he was still crying and bleeding badly. The next several hours were a blur of panic, barking orders, crying, screaming, stitching, and bandaging. Either they took him to a doctor, or in their blind panic they wound up kidnapping a doctor, either way, there was definitely a terrified, but still professional medical doctor in the chaos.

The house felt still after those stress filled hours, that ominous type of stillness that comes when you hear heavy footsteps of someone you’re hiding from stop by the closet your hiding in while you’re holding your breath. Mao Mao was hugging Bao Bao, his stuffed dog, to his side. The poor kid’s screaming had died down to soft sniffling as he was still trying to process what the FUCK happened and what was happening now. Just this morning he was so excited to get to see all his sisters again...

While the dinner prepared that night was a feast, it was barely picked at. Nobody had an appetite anymore. Normally, when all six of the Mao siblings were at the dinner table together it was a lively time filled with stories from the adventures they came back from, witty banter, and strange made-up-completely-on-the-spot songs tonight, nobody said anything.

Tanya was not surprised to learn that Shin Mao would be sleeping on the couch that night. She was also not surprised to learn that they’d be getting a divorce as soon as possible. The only thing that did surprise her was that nobody tried to kill Shin Mao for doing that, the only reason why she didn’t try it was because she thought it was fair to give Mao Mao’s mom and biological sisters the first chance.

Maybe they were afraid of the ghosts in the home- house. It was a house. A home is where a family lives, and a family does not have a room dedicated to killing people who break dumb rules that make no sense. She didn't know what the Mao clan was anymore, but it sure as hell wasn't a family.

Adrenaline was still pulsing in her veins when everybody was supposed to be in bed. How could anybody sleep after that?

She paced the silent house until she heard something fall over in the kitchen. She hesitated for a bit, (what if it was a ghost?) before she went over to check what it was. It was not a ghost she saw, but Mao Mao, who flinched and hid under the counter. His sword was strapped to his back and he had a travel bag that held all of his pocket money (that wasn't spent on the cobbler, it didn't look like a lot), Bao Bao, a toothbrush, a box of lucky ducky bandaids, spare clothes, a compass, a red blanket, a boy scout's survival guide, a photograph of the family (him, his parents, his sisters, and her), and it looked like he was trying to put food in it too.

He was planning on running way.

She couldn't say that she blamed him.

"Mitt- Mao Mao.."

"D-Don't try to stop me!" his voice quivered, he was trying to sound intimidating but it came out as something that sounded more like begging.

She didn't respond with words, she just helped him pack, gave him a disguise, and one last hug goodbye.


	2. Dead Maos tell some tales

He was gone.

Mao Mao had left the house and was off to god knows where. And in the morning his family would discover that he's gone and search the world for him. Her wife told her stories about when he would run away before, those times weren't as serious or drastic as _this_ time.

Those times were just a kid looking up to his heroic siblings and 'father' and wanting to go on his own adventures so that he could be a hero just like them. Those times, he was safe, and never got hurt any worse than needing a band-aid or two, his mother was always a little spooked when he so suddenly ran off like that but either she or one of her five daughters always brought the starry-eyed junior adventurer right back home. This time, his life was hanging in the balance. It was like a high stakes game of hide and seek. If he was found and brought back, who knows what Shin Mao would do to him if he gets the chance.

Tanya debated whether or not she should use leaves to make a fake Mao Mao to put somewhere in the house. On one hand, if the Mao clan doesn't realise he's gone at first, they won't look for him. This would give him more time to put as much distance as possible between him and that monster. And on the other, if it looked like she was involved with his disappearance, she'd face the wrath of her Mother in law. This woman had broken the grips' of ancient bloodthirsty spirits to save her son, she didn't want to know what she would do with her when she found out that she helped Mao Mao escape. That and all of the 'what if's.

What if he got into trouble when he was out there and his sisters and mom didn't know he was gone? She wasn't exactly a _popular_ addition to to family, so what if when the fake Mao Mao was discovered to be a fake, her law obsessed in laws would accuse her of child theft? What if he met something far worse than Shin Mao? What if he got fed up and wanted to go home, but couldn't because he forgot the way? Did she do the right thing by helping him run away when she could've talked to him? Maybe there was another way to handle this, maybe she should find him herself and bring him back-

These thoughts were interrupted by the sound of someone chewing something behind her, followed by the sounds of someone she didn't recognize talking.

"I can't believe you would do something like this! _Especially at this time!_"

"Well, it's better that it's taken care of now so that none of the living have to deal with it in the morning."

"It was already taken care of, Jim Jim! it was in the trash!"

'Jim Jim', wasn't that the name of the uncle who couldn't make it to her and Brunhilde's wedding because of 'unfortunate circumstances'? No, it couldn't be. She turned around and saw two figures, one of them was hunched over the trash can, eating the cobbler that Mao Mao got his stomach cut open for bringing inside the house, the other was a pirate, who was understandably disgusted by her relative's behavior.

"Well, Blackbeard, I never got to eat it when I was alive and I won't get any more chances now."

Oh great, more ghosts. she reached for a box of salt, she now understood why this house always seemed to have so much fucking salt in it.

"WAIT!"

Both of them cried out in a panic when they noticed her.

"We're good spirits we swear!"

She withdrew her hand from the salt, but did take a step towards it, just in case. The Barbarian hunched over the trash can stood upright and took a step closer to her, in the moonlight, she could make out a large deep hole in his torso, she could make out some of his ribs in it.

"Wait a minute.. You're 'Tanya' right? The one that joined the family recently?"

"...Yes..."

He firmly shook her hand with his own, (thankfully, not the one covered in trash-cobbler).

"Congratulations on the marriage. I'm sorry that I've never had the chance to meet you when I was alive, but I've heard a lot of good things about you from my niece and I know you will make her very happy."

"Uh, thanks..."

The pirate cleared her throat.

"Welcome to the family, I'm sorry that one of the first introductions to the house spirits was ...that."

"Hey, speaking of 'that'. What the fuck happened back there?"

"My brother is fucking insane, and he doomed his own honor and the life of my nephew. That's what happened."

"That was obvious, but why was it over _fucking cobbler_?"

Jim Jim shrugged,

"There's a rule in the hero's code that forbids it. It's been around for so long that nobody in the family, dead or alive, knows why it's there. There's a lot of stupid family legends about it though."

Blackbeard scoffed

"Was my Great Great Great grandmother having five of her own children slaughtered and then baked into that horrible dessert 'a stupid family legend'?!"

"Considering that we've never seen their ghosts, probably."

"_They died horribly, Jim Jim_"

"Doesn't this clan have a room dedicated to killing off family members? _Why the fuck does anyone here think that that was acceptable in any way or form?!_"

Tanya interrupted as the pair of ghosts now awkwardly avoided her gaze. This would not be a good time to tell her that as a line of proud, honor-bound warriors (most of whom had been samurai), Mao Mao would not have been the first Mao to die horribly at the hands of his own father at a young age in the name of honor, and he likely wouldn't be the last.

"...While I don't agree with my brother, I can see that he did it for the sake of preserving honor-"

"I don't think he had honor in the first place! he was willing to kill his own son!"

"_ Samurai _ honor, not 'good dad with healthy family relationships and a sense of morality that is both normal and rational' honor." Jim Jim corrected.

"What would killing Mao Mao do to preserve honor?!"

"Absolutely nothing."

Black beard interjected.

"In fact, the only thing this 'incident' did was doom Shin Mao's honor."

"Mao Mao's still just a child, he didn't break the hero's code in the first place because he wasn't a hero yet. He's never been trained to be a hero, he hasn't even started to read the hero's code! He could not restore his honor with his death because his honor was never broken to begin with."

"** _So he would've died for nothing then?!_ **"

"Technically yes, but I'm sure someone would intentionally get him out of 'that room' and his ghost would've had full rights to haunt and torment the fuck out of that asshole-in-law of mine for the rest of his natural life."

"..._Mao Mao was going to die over nothing._.."

Tanya sunk to the floor, not knowing how she was supposed to handle the information that Mao Mao's almost death wasn't just over a stupid rule, it was over a stupid rule that he didn't know about and wasn't even supposed to obey yet. She could only imagine what must be going through that kid's head right now, what he was thinking about when he left.

She wished that he'd be alright out there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anybody asks where Great-Great Maternal Grandfather Twig is, he's busy trying to comfort his great granddaughter.


End file.
